Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-04
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1881
The True Way.

The True Way.
In California we delight in having
everything on a large scale. Nature
has been at pains to make her hand
plain in gigantic efforts, and man
emulates nature as far as he can. We
boast long lines of railroads which en-
ploy engines of nearly one hundred
tons weight. The ferries that cross
uur bays and rivers would carry two
or three vessels used for such purposes
in other lands. The Palace hotel was,
when built ten or twelve years since,
accounted the largest thing OF its kind
in the world. As things are moving
in the present year of grace, that hos
telry will soon become small in COM
;,arison with those being built to ac-
commodate the crowds OF people who
daily arrive in the ceveral parts OF the
State.
In hotels, railroads, ferries and
other enterprises this huge scale OF
operations seems to work to perfec-
ton. But our animus is to apply this
same scale to all we do. Senator
Stanford has in Tehama county
the largest vineyard in the world.
The area planted to vines approxi-
mates three thousand acres. In this
county and just outside the city limits
is the great Nadeau vineyard of two
thousand three hundred acres of
wine grapes. Mr.. L. j. Rose
planted and brought to perfection on
SunnySlope in the San Gabriel Valley
one thousand acres of vines
for similar purposes. Mr.. Rose had
over six hundred acres in bearing ci-
trus trees when he sold that magnifi-
cent estate TO London capitalists. At
Orange in the southeastern end of Los
Angeles county, the Mcpherson Bros,
have between five hundred and one
thousand acres OF raisin grapes. Here
are enterprises where this policy OF
doing things on a large scale
will not work. Grape-growing
for whatever purpose it be,
is an exec edingly nice industry.
The cultivation of citrus fruits is, if
any thing, a more exact agricultural
science. Both of these require the
greatest amount of skill procurable
from close study and long experience ;
and they require care as unremitting
ms the skill must be exact. Our plan in
this respect is the very opposite of the
practice which obtains in countries
where generations of experience have
Taught people how best to do it. The
largest vineyard in France is La Fitte.
1t contains fifty-two acres of wine
grapes. In that country this property
is not called a farm, nor merely a
vineyard. 1t is dignified as can
estate" For several generations the
product of these vines have been
handled in the same way.
All the grapes are converted into a
natural red wine-a claret. In vintage
time each bunch is examined by an
expert. The perfect racemes with the
perfect berries on them go into one
receptacle, all imperfect berries being
first removed. The ordinary punches
go into a second crusher, all poor
grapes being first taken away. OF the
fine punches there is made the first
grade of wine, bearing the La Fitte
brand, and the others go to produce
the standard brand of La Fitte
claret. The sales from this vineyard,
of SO small dimensions that it would
be despised in California, aggregate on
the average an annual amount of
$1OO,O00. This is close to $4,000 an
acre revenue from vineyard. The
estate makes the wine, cures it, bot
Ties it, cases it and sells it with the
proper label and marked cork.
The standard grade sells for $lS
per case of one dozen bottles, and
the noblcr grade sells for $24 or $2 per
bottle. Five bottles to the gallon is
$40 per gallon. But the wine is five
wears old before it is allowed to leave
the cellars of the estate.
One more instance in a kindred in
The province OF Malaga in
Spain contains about 1000 square
miles Of surface. Remember this is a
patch of ground little more than
sixty miles square. OF this there are
only nine hundred and twenty square
miles suitable for raisin culture. OF
this latter area three hundred and
fifty square miles are devoted to the
production Of the famous Malaga